Gökova, Didim and some bruised ribs

I’m still in Turkey, enjoying the good steady wind every day. Only too bad I can’t ride at the moment…

Last Thursday we went to Didim, the flat water lagoon spot I visited last year already… and it still is one of the best lagoon spots in Europe. The Forecast was strong, as we arrived we found about 25-30knots steady winds with only little gusts. So we pumped everything we had in between 5m and 9m kites. I first tested the new 5m Vector kite from Cabrinha, actually the SE edition for schools. I haven’t been using such a small kite in a while and was surprised how fast it was turning. After the first turn I could not resist to loop it.. and booom it really pulled me of the water.. I like…

We took a lot of turns on all different kites, we had some beginners wt us that were enjoying the shallowness of the spot, as every time u crash u can get back on the board in an instant. Very easy to learn ur first backrolls or unhooked trick.. well maybe the wind was a bit strong for unhooked (-;

So during my 3^rd session in decided to take the 5m out again for an extended ride and some more loops… as the tide went lower the water was maybe about 30cm deep by that time. On one of the loops I went high and looped it just before reaching the zenith, the kite went for a big loop and stopped on the way back up… lot of things going thru ur mind in this moment… specially how high I am and how shallow the water is down below. So the kite pulled me straight forward instead of supporting my landing and BANG... it hit the water hard, Sedat told me later that I actually bounced of the water twice before I stock. Back on the board I figured that my rib was actually hurting a bit so I decided better goin back to the beach… and I figured the my rib was either cracked or broken… but I think it was not enough pain to be broken.
Now a few days later it’s getting better from day to day and I’m hopefully back on the water tomorrow… wt a seat harness and raceboard, heading out to discover the Gökova bay…
I also had a chance to test the new Switchblades, the 10 and 12m kites are lighter on the bar this year but yet powerfull kites. I would say the 12m is still like most others 14m kites, so a 75kg rider u doesn’t really need anything bigger than 12mSB. It’s fast, very stable and perfect for wakestyle.
Looking forward to get my hands on the new Nomads as well.

The bay here was very busy during the weekend, on and off the water, haven’t seen so many kite on this beach before. The kiteacademytr.com is doing a great job here wt the Cabrinha kites, as last year I haven’t seen much Cabrinhas and this season they are already all over the place. The guests are mostly Turkish kiters from bigger cities around here, but I’ve already seen the first Germans here as well... so u better be quick or they will be all over the place haha.
We had some good nights out wt all the guys, the party is usually in the small KA Bar where all the kitesurfers meet up for drinks on weekends. Since I life wt Mert and Yalgiz we have some after parties at our home… nice pool outside and it is now also filled wt water again.
We had some break in this weekend while we were all asleep… but the did not take anything as none of the guys had any money in their wallets. We found the bags and cloth outside the house on the veranda in the morning, all wallets searched.. but they left all the credit cards, laptops, phones… guess they were only looking for money, but since I’m on the top floor they did not come up to my room… lucky me. First we thought that someone might have been sleepwalking or was looking for cigarettes as nothing was missing... but we figured out the following day that five houses around were robbed.

I really like all the delicious food here like Köfte, Kebap, Iskender and soo much bred and I get used to drink the Ayran, the Turkish salty milk kinda thing that they drink wt all the meat dishes.

so long…

Stephan

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Roadtrip along the west coast of Turkey

A shortcut through one week of road trip around Turkeys best kite spots.

Driving along endless Eucalyptus tree alleys, olive trees all over the mountains, adventures roads, fresh figs from the garden, endless empty beaches, windy spots, flat water, kicker waves, cozy hotels and enjoying and experiencing the Turkish cuisine...

KTA Turkey
First of all i wanna start with a special thx to all the organizers and helpers of the KTA Turkey tourstop, u guys did a great job. I think I speak out of most people's mind if i say we had a blast. We had some great onshore winds the first days and some hardcore offshore to finish off the comp. At the end we got it all done with a full double elimination and 8 races, not bad for the first stop of the 2010/11 season.

read the full report here on our new website: www.kiteboardtour.asia







So after the competition we pampered ourselves for two more days in the 7800Cesme Hotel before i moved up to Izmir together with Rebecka and the whole KTA crew. Most of em went straight for the airport to disappear to different parts of the world, while Rebecka and myself stayed two more nights in Izmir with Basak at her parents place. We got spoilt again with a great hospitality and more Turkish food experiences... donno if there is an end of it, but u definitely need a lot of workout if u stay here for long time.
Rebecka got her eye surgery done over here in the Izmir Eye Hospital, called "Kaskaloglo Göz hastanesi" no more contacts needed.
Here like to thank Basak and her parents again for the great hospitality.

So after our time in Izmir it was time to split up again, Rebecka went back home to Oslo and i started my way down to Gökova. Gotta say, the busses here are very comfy, looks like 5star airline, screens in every seat.. playing only Turkish movies (-;

My trip went from Izmir - Gökova - Bodrum - Didim - Bodrum - Didim - Bodrum - Istanbul

ok, we spent a few too many hours in the car, but hey, that's what happens if ur chasing new spots and the wind.
We had wind at nearly every spot we went to, i kited every day.
Gökova, is a wide Beach in a Nature reserve area in between mountains, where the wind funnels through. The water is flat to choppy and knee deep for the first 100meters. Little school and Bistro is setup on the beach. The wind is mostly onshore.

Bodrum, is not really a special spot, but still a nice change for a visit, the beach is a bit narrow and water is mostly choppy, a kiteschool is just around the corner.
Didim, lots of spots around here, all within 30min from Didim. I will not tell u about the exact locations, but this area definitely has some great potential. Most likely the big lagoon with random sandbars which goes along the coast for 17Kilometers!!! It can be very shallow in some spots and knee to waist deep in others. The best spot is a bit smelly, caused by the fermented mud, but who cares if u got a perfect flat water spot... think positive, u got a free mud pack (-;

There is another small spot called "flip flop beach" with some nice little kickers, this spot is not for beginners, there are sharp rocks on both sides and the space is limited. The name is not official, it's called like that because the first to experience this beach found it covered wt hundreds of flip flops... sound like Koh Phangan after full moon party.

One last spot is at the Harbour, we did not had too much wind there but it is also a flat water spot within the harbour. Setup on the pier and ride in front of it, there are windweehls all along the top of the surrounding mountains, so there is a lot of wind around this area.




We spent one night in a friends place close to Didim, this restaurant is mostly visited by Yacht charters and it's placed within a stunning bay. Some trollers coming back from a night out at sea in the morning unloading their catch of the day. Special thx for his hospitality and the lovely, rich breakfast the Kaptan Restaurant.You got a very picturesque place there.

I arrived at the Istanbul bus terminal and went straight to the airport wt the Metro. The 12h bus ride was not that much of a sleeper as i thought, so my butt hearts already... could someone please go ahead and push the science of beaming. Well at least the bus was cheap only 35Euro, no luggage limit... not bad.

Now i'm sitting in the Airport in Istanbul wt another 15h journey ahead... think i cannot sit for a while after this (-; At least i found time to update my Blog and i know my winterseason in Boracay will be a blast again!!

Cheeers from Istanbul and teşekkürler to all my friends in this Country
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